10.26.2018

Foo Dogs vs. Staffordshire Dogs

If you read Wednesday's Fall with Serena & Lily post, it will come as no surprise that I love Staffordshire dogs. The post features an antique pair on the mantle and a contemporary pair on the dining room tablescape.

What may or may not come as a surprise is the fact that I love foo dogs, too!

Dare I try to pick a favorite?

We'll start with first in the alphabet and history, foo dogs. These "dogs" in fact represent guardian lions and date back to about 200 BC. They can also be referred to as shishi which translates to "stone lion" and first stood in front of Chinese imperial palaces, tombs, government buildings, temples, and homes of the wealthy. In Buddhist culture, lions are seen to have protective powers, so your foo dogs could in fact be seen as guard dogs.

Staffordshire dogs became popular in 19th century homes, and too are meant to stand guard in homes. Manufactured in England and Scotland, the most popular favor the King Charles Spaniel, a favorite breed among monarchs. Designed to adorn the mantle, the canines were a quintessential Victorian bourgeois status-symbol. Fun fact, in the 1800s, children as young as 7 or 8 years old were paid two shillings a week to paint the gold chains on the dogs' necks.